Houston-Oklahoma kickoff set for 11 a.m. Sept. 3 at NRG Stadium

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8:00 am CDT, Tuesday, May 17, 2016

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Houston-Oklahoma kickoff set for 11 a.m. Sept. 3 at NRG Stadium

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HOUSTON - The 2016 Houston Football season will kick off at 11 a.m. on Sept. 3 as the #HTownTakeover faces Oklahoma in the Advocare Texas Kickoff at NRG Stadium. The game, which is the only opening weekend game nationally to pit two teams in the top 10 of the final AP poll of the 2015 season, is slated for a national broadcast on ABC.

The game will mark Houston’s 30th appearance on ABC after appearing on the network twice in 2015, capturing wins over then No. 16 Navy and No. 20 Temple in the inaugural American Athletic Conference Championship. Houston is 16-11-2 all-time in its 29 appearances on ABC.

Houston was one of just two schools nationally to play at least four ranked opponents last season and remain undefeated in the matchups with three of Houston's wins over ranked opponents coming by double-digits, the fourth-best total in the nation.

Houston was one of eight teams nationally with at least four wins against ranked opponents, and was third nationally with seven wins of 21 points or more as 10 wins were double-digit wins including Houston's 38-24 win over No. 9 Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Houston ranked fifth nationally with an average margin of victory of 19.7 points per game.

The program ranked eighth nationally in rushing defense, allowing just 108.9 yards per game, while ranking 13th in rushing offense with an average of 235.8 yards per game. Houston was the only team in the nation to rank in the top 13 in both categories.

Ranking 10th in scoring offense (40.4 points per game) and 20th in scoring defense (20.7 points per game), Houston was the only program in the nation to rank in the top 10 in scoring offense and the top 25 in scoring defense.

The season-opener will pit two of the three quarterbacks from the list of returning 2015 Maxwell Award semifinalists as Houston’s Greg Ward Jr. and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield were joined by Clemson’s Deshaun Watson on the list. Ward and Watson were the only two players in the nation to rush for at least 1,000 yards and pass for at least 2,000 yards last season.

Kickoff times for the first three weeks of the season and weekday games are typically determined by mid-June. For weekend games past the first three weeks of the season, kickoff times will be set by conference TV partners within 12 days prior to the contest, or in limited instances, six days out.

2016 SEASON TICKETS

New season ticket members can catch all seven home Houston Football games in 2016 with season tickets. To purchase 2016 season tickets at UHCougars.com/2016. The 2016 Houston Football season ticket package starts at just $124 and includes the 2016 AdvoCare Kickoff Classic vs. Oklahoma on Sept. 3, 2016 at NRG Stadium.